The Power Of Multi Sensory Preaching And Teaching

Most preaching and teaching in the church engages only one of the senses—hearing. In The Power of Multisensory Preaching and Teaching, Rick Blackwood shows how recognizing and engaging the multiple senses of the congregation can lead to greater impact. Blackwood presents both biblical evidence and scientific research showing that the more senses we stimulate in teaching and preaching, the greater the levels of learner attention, comprehension, and retention. Blackwood addresses both the “why” and the “how” of multisensory communication. Regardless of one’s current skill level, this practical book can help anyone add multi-sensory elements to messages in order to take communication to the next level—more compelling, clear, and memorable. As a result of reading this book readers can be more effective as a communicator and teacher. The book includes tools, examples, and worksheets.

This practical guide shows the power of multisensory communication as contrasted with monosensory speaking. Using multiple senses is shown by research to increase learner attention, comprehension, and retention. Any preacher or teacher can incorporate more sense appeal resulting in more compelling, clear, and memorable messages with greater impact.

One Year to Better Preaching provides preachers with fifty-two hands-on exercises that sharpen their homiletical skills. The book is designed particularly for those who preach each week—and have been, perhaps, for some time—to help them get out of the rut of the routine and infuse their preaching with new sparks of creativity, fresh approaches to sermon preparation and design, and sharpened verbal and nonverbal communication skills. Novice preachers, also, will find the exercises useful in developing their preaching abilities. Each chapter includes instructions for an exercise, tools and suggestions needed for the exercise, comments from preachers who completed it, and recommended resources for further study The exercises address eight categories of homiletics: • Prayer and Preaching • Bible Interpretation • Understanding Listeners • Sermon Construction • Illustrations and Applications • Word Crafting • The Preaching Event • Sermon Evaluation Readers can complete the exercises in the order presented, which address different categories week to week, or they can sharpen their skills in a particular category over a period of weeks by using the chart provided. They might also work through the exercises in collaboration with other preachers. One Year to Better Preaching will leave a preacher reinvigorated and better equipped to proclaim the Word of God skillfully, passionately, and effectively.

In the homiletics field, a text has been needed that blends hermeneutics, sermon development, and sermon delivery. Engaging Exposition fills that gap with what its experienced authors call a "3-D approach" to preaching. Bill Curtis writes about the Discovery process—how to equip the student to discover the meaning of a biblical text by using sound principles of interpretation, and to move from biblical analysis to biblical interpretation. Danny Akin addresses the Development process—how to equip the student to develop expository sermons based upon results of the interpretive process, and to move from the Main Idea of the Text (MIT) to the completed sermon. Stephen Rummage explains the Delivery process—how to equip students to deliver expository messages using the completed sermon, and to move from an understanding of speech communication principles to persuasive delivery.

"Progress in the Pulpit is a master class in preaching, written by two most-qualified authors. Dr. Jerry Vines is truly a Prince of the Pulpit.” — Dr. Albert Mohler Jr., from the foreword Like musical instruments, preachers get better over time—unless, of course, they neglect maintenance. Progress in the Pulpit is for seasoned preachers looking to refresh their craft and receive guidance for contemporary challenges to preaching. While most preaching books are geared toward new preachers, Progress in the Pulpit builds on the basics and focuses on what often falls into neglect. You will learn to better: Connect to audiences without compromising biblical truth Plan, evaluate, and get feedback on sermons Battle biblical illiteracy in your congregation Employ word studies and other technical aspects of biblical interpretation Increase imagination and creativity in sermon writing Extend the life of a sermon via social media, small groups, and more Establish habits for continued growth Drs. Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix, who wrote Power in the Pulpit (a book still used in seminaries today), remain committed to pure expository preaching. Yet they understand that the times change and present new challenges. Here they offer guidance to help preachers stay sharp and grow in the craft of faithfully proclaiming God’s Word.

Although there are several preaching books today, there are only handfuls, if any, that address the centrality of the Holy Spirit in preaching. A hindrance to preaching in the twenty-first century is over intellectualization of the Gospel. After receiving a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Preaching, I thought I was now ready to prepare and preach an effective sermon that will draw any audience to Christ. I told myself, “I am ready. I have attained and I can double the size of any given church with my vast knowledge on preaching.” Little did I know that my degrees from the best schools around the world were not sufficient to preach the whole counsel of God’s Word. I have come to realize that clever persuasions of men do not change lives. The name of Jesus through the power of the Holy Ghost does. The secret ingredient in preparing and preaching Spirit-empowered messages is the power of the Holy Spirit. Ministers of the Gospel must not depend upon natural means to produce supernatural results, but must use supernatural means to produce supernatural results. Paul said to the Thessalonians, “Our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance” (1 Thess. 1:5). The church is in desperate need of revival. Sinners are urgently in need of the Savior, and only the Spirit of God can convict sinners of their sins and bring revival to the nations. Consequently, the goal of this book is not to produce another great preaching book, but to help students and ministers prepare and present effective, Holy Spirit-empowered sermons to their audience. The book seeks to instruct readers on the importance of the Holy Spirit in preaching the Word of God while laying the foundational building blocks of effective preaching. This book is for both beginning ministers who are just starting ministry and for veteran ministers who would like to brush up on their preaching and teaching skills in order to become better, Spirit-empowered ministers of the Gospel. May God bless you and speak mightily through you with clarity, urgency, fervency and power as you endeavor to preach Spirit-empowered messages to a dying generation.

Facebook. Twitter. Snapchat. We live in a rapidly changing world, a world that seems to be increasingly inhospitable toward preaching. In the face of digital technology, social media, cultural pluralism, and pastoral burnout, how can Christian preachers proclaim the gospel faithfully and effectively? This book answers that question by bringing together a selection of important voices from across North America, Asia, and the Pacific. It argues that Spirit-empowered preaching is characterized by five attributes: it opens the Scriptures, engages the culture, addresses the listener, dissects the preacher, and elevates the Savior. With contributions from authors like William Willimon, Darrell Johnson, Lynne Baab, Robert Smith Jr., and Paul Windsor, this is an excellent resource for ordained ministers, lay preachers, theological students, and anyone wrestling with the challenge of preaching God's word in a smartphone world.

Despite the introduction of new technologies for classrooms, many seminary courses still utilize primarily auditory methods to convey content. Course outcomes may include opportunities for learners to demonstrate knowledge and skills gained but may not include opportunities for learners to begin to embed knowledge and skills into their long-term memory. Educators are engaging with neuroscientists to reshape classroom practices, content delivery, curriculum design, and physical classroom spaces to enhance students’ learning and memory, primarily in elementary and secondary education. Why not in seminary education? An overview of how learning occurs in our brain, what the different types of memory are, and how memory is created serves as a framework for suggesting pedagogical tools. These brain-friendly tools are specifically applied to individual academic disciplines, enabling instructors to make concrete modifications in the structure and content of what is taught, making learning more ‘sticky.’ Inglis’s synopsis of the use of neuroscience in the classroom and suggested action is followed by a collaborative dialogue with Kathy L. Dawson and Rodger Y. Nishioka. Dawson and Nishioka provide practical commentary regarding the successful implementation of Inglis’s proposed approach. As a group, Inglis, Dawson, and Nishioka create a text that extends pedagogical innovation in inspiring but practical ways.